By Miriam Humbe
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, on Thursday and Friday, hosted Trade and Investment Ministers in the ECOWAS subregion at the 4th Joint Meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry (ECOMOTI) in Abuja.
The meeting convened by the ECOWAS Commission, aimed to advance intra-regional trade and investment, economic diversification, and job creation through regional trade integration.
It aligned with the ECOWAS Vision 2050, which aspired to deepen economic growth, employment, structural transformation, and private sector development across Member States.
The meeting was anchored in three languages; English, French and Portuguese.
The Minister said that the gathering represented the shared resolve on all stakeholders in the subregion to advance economic integration, industrial transformation and economic growth and development.
We are privileged to host this very strategic assembly of leaders and experts from across the ECOWAS region that are united in the quest to deepen economic ties and foster sustainable industrial growth.
I believe that we are presented with a private opportunity to recalibrate our strategies and to align our efforts involving economic landscape of not just the region, not just the continent, but across the world.
I believe that the implications of our gathering here, go way back in terms of looking at first, the course of vision 2050, whose aspiration is to deepen economic growth, structural transformation and private sector development.
Oduwole commended the ECOWAS Commission for its mandate to facilitate inter regional growth, trade and investment.
The Minister told the participants to reflect on how this strategic evolution can be leveraged to advance regional cooperation, to drive industrial growth and strengthen economic resilience across the ECOWAS community.
She said: “I’m confident that the outcomes of this esteemed gathering of ECOWAS Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment of ECOWAS, and experts will chart a course that is worthy towards a more integrated and prosperous ECOWAS Region.
“Let us work as collaboratively as we can to lay a solid economic foundation that would uplift our nations and secure a more prosperous future for generations to come.
“My hope is that at the end of these two days, the outcomes here will be impactful, as they will be transformative.”
